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Exact blue-and-white UV-resin Crease Fly variation with a folded hollow foam baitfish body, red open mouth, large eye, and sparse fiber tailReal photo · Blue-and-white UV-resin Crease Fly variation

Saltwater · guide 114

Crease Fly

Joe Blados's folded-foam baitfish fly: a narrow hollow shell that floats, pops, wakes, and pushes water without becoming a cylindrical popper.

Common size
No universal hook size; the reviewed Fly Fishers International recipe uses a 3XL or 4XL saltwater hook, Match body length, hook strength, tackle, target species, and local forage rather than copying one thumbnail scale
Common colors
blue over white with pearl glitter and a red mouth as photographed, silver or gray baitfish, chartreuse and white, locally matched forage colors
Imitates
injured or disoriented surface baitfish, small minnow or silverside profile, waking surface forage when retrieved gently
How to recognize it

Confirm the folded shell, not color alone. A Crease Fly starts with a thin foam rectangle folded around the hook shank so its joined edges create a hollow, laterally compressed baitfish body and open mouth. A sparse fiber-and-flash tail extends behind it, eyes and marker details establish the baitfish face, and a clear resin skin adds durability and shine. A flat foam Gurgler with a raised lip, a cupped cylindrical popper, a foam diver, and a conventional bucktail streamer remain different constructions.

Joe Blados developed the Crease Fly as a thin foam baitfish that could float and pop. The reviewed Fly Fishers International sources document his attribution and the folded-body architecture; modern marker, eye, tail, resin, glitter, and freshwater variations should remain labeled rather than treated as one original dressing.
Exact blue-and-white UV-resin Crease Fly variation with a folded hollow foam baitfish body, red open mouth, large eye, and sparse fiber tail
Real photo · exact pattern

Blue-and-white UV-resin Crease Fly variation

Exact source-identified blue-and-white Crease Fly variation from Ted Syhlén's Creative Commons video thumbnail. The folded foam shell, open red mouth, eye, and tail are clear; foam shape, markers, eyes, resin, glitter, hook, and tail remain variations rather than Joe Blados's one universal recipe.

View
exact pattern variation — blue-and-white UV-resin Crease Fly
Color shown
blue-over-white foam shell, pearl glitter, red mouth, molded eyes, and pale blue-white tail
Look for
The source-named finished fly shows the folded hollow foam shell, narrow baitfish wedge, open mouth, large eye, and sparse fiber-and-flash tail that separate a Crease Fly from cylindrical poppers and lip-style foam flies.
Open full-size photo ↗

On the water

Know when and how to fish it.

Use these tips as a starting point. The river, depth, insects, and fish behavior still decide the final presentation.

01

Why it works

  • The folded foam creates buoyancy and a narrow side profile at the same time, so the fly can sit high without the blocky silhouette of a conventional popper.
  • Its open front and hollow shell can push, spit, or wake according to retrieve speed, while the tail continues to move during a pause.
  • A large eye, reflective side, tapered tail, and contrasting back organize the fly into a readable baitfish signal even when surface disturbance partly obscures fine detail.
  • The clear resin skin protects marker work and adds shine, but excessive resin or a poorly sealed seam can add unwanted weight and change the intended action.
02

When to use it

  • When striped bass, false albacore, bluefish, warmwater bass, or another legal target is visibly feeding on small baitfish near the surface.
  • Around current seams, points, beach structure, flats edges, lights, or open-water bait concentrations where a floating wounded-minnow presentation fits observed behavior.
  • Use a quieter waking retrieve for wary fish or calm water and a more forceful pop only when fish, chop, or visibility justify extra disturbance.
  • For fish holding modestly below the surface, the reviewed FFI presentation allows a floating Crease Fly on a sinking line so the fly submerges and rises during pauses; choose a conventional subsurface baitfish fly when that buoyant path cannot stay in the strike lane.
  • Change patterns when local forage observations do not support a baitfish profile, regardless of whether the Crease Fly can be made to reach the depth.
03

How to fish it

  • Cast beyond or across the feeding lane, straighten the leader, and begin with short controlled strips separated by full pauses so the fly alternates between disturbance and a vulnerable stationary profile.
  • Vary the rod-tip angle and strip length deliberately: a low tip and firm short strip produces more push, while a slower steady retrieve creates a wake.
  • For the reviewed sinking-line method, let the floating fly submerge under line tension, then strip with pauses that allow its buoyancy to lift it; keep this as a labeled alternative rather than implying the foam itself is weighted.
  • Keep contact during the pause without dragging the fly; when a fish eats, use the appropriate strip strike or controlled line set for the species instead of lifting immediately on splash alone.
  • Check the foam seam, resin coat, hook point, tail fouling, and leader after hard strikes, contact with structure, or toothy fish; retire a cracked or waterlogged body before its action becomes unpredictable.
04

Mistakes to avoid

  • Calling every foam surface baitfish a Crease Fly without the folded hollow shell and open-mouth architecture.
  • Treating the exact blue-and-white UV-resin hero as Joe Blados's only color, tail, eye, resin, or glitter recipe.
  • Adding so much resin that the body becomes heavy, loses buoyancy, or cures with a sharp uneven edge.
  • Making the foam body wider than the hook gap, blocking the gap with glue or resin, or covering the hook eye.
  • Using the Original Gurgler or Atlantic Silverside comparison as a second Crease Fly photograph, a universal forage claim, or a substitute for checking the water in front of you.

At the vise

Tie this version.

Folded-Foam Crease Fly with UV-Resin Finish · intermediate

This guide follows the reviewed Fly Fishers International folded-foam method. The exact gallery hero is Ted Syhlén's blue-and-white UV-resin variation. Foam template, hook, tail, marker design, eyes, adhesive, resin, glitter, color, and freshwater adaptations must remain labeled.

Materials

Hook
3XL or 4XL saltwater hook in the reviewed FFI recipe; a suitable freshwater hook may be used for bass or panfish
Thread
White 3/0 thread or another strong thread appropriate to the hook and tail
Tail
Gray EP Fibers or bucktail plus restrained pearl Krystal Flash
Body
2 mm white closed-cell foam cut as a rectangle about twice the hook gap wide and one shank long
Adhesive
Controlled cyanoacrylate adhesive for attaching the folded foam to the prepared shank
Color and eyes
Permanent markers and appropriately scaled adhesive or molded eyes
Finish
Thick clear UV resin; optional fine glitter used sparingly

Steps

  1. Secure the hook and start thread behind the eye, leaving the eye and front working space clear.
  2. Carry thread to the bend and tie in a sparse tail of EP Fibers or bucktail; bind the material ends along the shank to create a stable glue base.
  3. Add a restrained bundle of pearl Krystal Flash and make supporting wraps at the tail base so the tail sits slightly upright rather than collapsing below the hook.
  4. Whip finish and remove the thread; the remaining body work uses adhesive, foam, markers, eyes, and resin.
  5. Cut a 2 mm foam rectangle approximately twice the hook gap wide and one shank long, then dry-fit it around the shank before using adhesive.
  6. Apply cyanoacrylate sparingly to both sides and the top of the prepared shank and at the tail base, keeping glue out of the hook eye and gap.
  7. Invert the hook if needed and attach the foam so the belly just covers the shank; align and join the upper edges to form the hollow folded shell and open front.
  8. Let the adhesive set, then shape the body conservatively while preserving the narrow baitfish wedge and sufficient hook clearance.
  9. Color the back darker than the side, add the eyes, mark the mouth or gill area red, and add only the side detail the chosen forage requires.
  10. Apply an even coat of thick clear UV resin over the foam without flooding the seam, eye, mouth, or hook gap; mix in only a small amount of fine glitter if that labeled variation calls for it.
  11. Cure the resin fully from all sides, then inspect for tacky areas, sharp edges, blocked hook clearance, loose eyes, and unintended listing before fishing.

Tying sources: Saltwater Fly Tying Manual ↗, Crease Fly ↗

Common variations

Small changes can make a different fly.

One verified, non-AI Creative Commons video thumbnail shows an exact source-identified blue-and-white UV-resin Crease Fly variation. An exact Original Gartside Gurgler and a natural Atlantic Silverside are labeled construction and food-profile comparisons only; neither is another Crease Fly angle or proof of local forage.

Blue-and-white UV-resin Crease Fly variation

The exact Creative Commons source shows a completed blue-over-white folded foam baitfish with pearl sparkle, large eye, red open mouth, and sparse pale tail.
Colors shown
blue, white, pearl glitter, red mouth, pale blue-white tail
Weighting
The foam shell is visibly buoyant in design; hook size, hidden adhesive, resin mass, and total fishing weight are not established by the thumbnail.

Original Gartside Gurgler identity comparison

A separately named exact Original Gurgler uses one flat foam strip, a segmented body, palmered hackle, and a raised flexible lip instead of the Crease Fly's folded hollow baitfish shell.
Colors shown
white, pearl body, natural and grizzly accents
Weighting
Named artificial comparison only; not a Crease Fly and not a second exact angle.

Natural Atlantic Silverside profile reference

A natural specimen shows shallow body depth, a reflective lateral band, large eye, narrow tail base, and forked tail as proportion context only.
Colors shown
silver, translucent gray, dark eye
Weighting
Natural food-profile reference; not an artificial fly, local-presence evidence, or a required blue-and-white recipe.

Related patterns

Gartside Gurgler ↗Saltwater Baitfish Fly Patterns ↗Lefty's Deceiver ↗Bass and Panfish Popper Patterns ↗

How this guide was checked

Fly information and photo sources.

Guide checked on 2026-07-13. Every image has its own source and usage record. Natural insects and hand-tied flies can vary in shape and proportion.

Pattern sources

Fly Fishers InternationalSaltwater Fly Tying Manual↗Fly Fishers InternationalCrease Fly↗Pennsylvania Fish and Boat CommissionCrease Fly: A Great Topwater Pattern↗Fly TyerAutumn Is for Albies↗Ted Syhlén / Ted STying the Crease Fly with Ted Syhlén: Tips & Tricks with UV-Resin↗

Image credits

Blue-and-white UV-resin Crease Fly variationTying the Crease Fly with Ted Syhlén: Tips & Tricks with UV-ResinSource ↗

“Tying the Crease Fly with Ted Syhlén: Tips & Tricks with UV-Resin” by Ted Syhlén / Ted S, licensed CC BY via YouTube

Changes
Downloaded the source video's 1280x720 YouTube max-resolution thumbnail and cropped x=140, y=70, width=1000, height=600 around the exact fly. No AI generation, upscale, retouching, compositing, or color change.